If you were guaranteed 1,200 a month income…

[Tja1]

Would you give up full time work and a stressful job for something low key with minimal pay and minimal responsibility?

I’m 43. I’ve been a single parent for several years. It’s been a struggle. I have income guaranteed of 1,200 a month. My mortgage is 980 so this income only really covers that and council tax.

I have around 2k spare a month at the moment that I can put away after all expenses but my mental health and general health is very bad due to the pressures of the job. I am seriously considering just throwing the towel in and getting a job two days a week doing something basic (I can’t go part time in my current industry), just something that pays the extra bills and a bit of spending money.

has anyone done this? Is it crazy? I’m so depleted and I’ve exhausted all other options including sick leave, annual leave and therapy. I just want to get off the treadmill.

Do you have any savings? If yes, I’d do it for a little while, take a break and then look for another job.

If not, you’d potentially end up in lots of debt.

I thought this was a Universal Basic Income question and was gonna say no, I'd like to keep my hand in but reduce my hours.

Can you reduce your hours in current job?

@pineapplebobbing do you think? I’ve paid off my car finance and don’t have any other finance. Urgh I just don’t know what to do.

No, op can't reduce her hours in her current job. How do I know? I read her post.

How "guaranteed" is the income?
Do you have any savings?

It sounds pretty precarious to me

What's your industry that you can't go part time? If you say someone might have an idea that is adjacent and an option for part time.

I didn't think it's crazy. I think happiness is more important than success, and if you can make it work financially then go for it.

It will give you breathing space and time to decide on what you want your future to look like. Tbh it's that kind of age when people do make significant changes. I did, and I regret nothing. (I went from full time employed to part time plus self employed. Took a financial hit, but was so much happier).

Good luck whatever you decide.

What is your private pension looking like? At 43 these are now the years to be building that up so you can have a decent retirement. If that's already sorted then yes I'd probably this, but if not then no.

I’m sorry I’m not understanding this properly. Where does the guaranteed income of £1200 come from? How would you pay utilities, food, insurances etc?

@madamweb it is guaranteed from a trust. The amount won’t change so it will obviously technically decrease in value I suppose. But always 1,200.

i have 10k savings. I would aim not to use savings though and just find a job two days a week that brought in 700-800 a month.

It seems to be 2 very extreme options.

Could you take a week or two off and try to find some middle ground job?

I hope you are ok. you sound burnt out, I don’t think your health can take much more. Well done for getting this far.

If you have Employee Assistance Program at work they can help you and it’s free and confidential, they can help you with financial side also.

@Whatevershallidowithmylife the job two days a week for 700-800 a month for bills and treats. The 1,200 for mortgage and council tax.

No, you can't afford it, especially with children to support. If you go into debt your mental health will spiral further. The only thing that'll help is a job change.

@3luckystars thanks. I’m not doing so well to be honest. I have taken time off and don’t feel any differently. I don’t know what is best. I don’t know if we have a programme like that but I will check, thank you

If the 1200 won't change then you need to take inflammation into account as you'll need to work more to make up for that

Seen your update. In that case doable taking your savings into consideration. So in that case yes, go for it. Totally irresponsible and not a great idea long term but you don’t know what’s round the corner. This is your rainy day time. #52 - terminal cancer - never got the chance to take a break from work and make use of my rainy day fund…….

Get a part time job first BEFORE handing in your notice. Good luck. Look on company websites. Tesco etc.

I just don't see how it will work... My mortgage and bill come to £1100 so only £200 more than yours but I have no dependents. I have no debts, no loans, nothing. I take home £2700 a month and this is just abut enough to have an average quality of life (gym membership, two cheap holidays a year and some hobbies) while saving a little bit every month. Technically, I could do it on 2k as a single person if I cut everything down to the bone but I am not convinced it would do my mental health any favours.

25 years of inflation to retirement age. And will you also be relying on this income for retirement or do you also have a pension? Because that's another 20 years of inflation.

Looking at past inflation as a guide, that £1200 will be worth around £640 by the time you retire, and under £300 by the time you reach average life expectancy.

A step down is better than burnout and crashing, so it sounds as if your plan may be a necessary short term step. But for a year or 2.while you recuperate, re-evaluate and maybe re-train. It doesn't sound as if you can afford to make it a permanent change.

Its a long time since I have dabbled in trusts work but even a trust can lose money/see the value of investments erode

Unfortunately, ‘unskilled’ jobs are quite hard to find right now, and those on offer are often zero hours contracts. It may also cause a problem when you need to remortgage.

Do you have any niche skills or transferable skills that could be useful in a different environment? Would you be open to studying for a year in order to retrain?

If you can afford it, I would have a week off somewhere really relaxing, where you can give yourself the space to think about your options.

With this trust, are you able to claim UC if you reduce your working income or would you not qualify for help?

I have done similar to this - It got to a point where I could not bring myself to go into work, I had issues with the kids, i was getting more and more depressed and literally could not cope anymore. It was back in the day of tax credits. I reduced my hours down to 20 hours a week as a self employed cleaner and claimed the tax credits. As long as I had enough to cover the bills and put food on the table and clothes on their back, I was happy. You also have savings as a back up.

I did this for about 3 years until the kids were older and more self sufficient. It gave me the break and the freedom I had been craving, but I could also dictate when and how many hours I worked. I then found I was ready to go back into full time employment.

You need to do whats best for you. I went from not being able to get out of bed to being the first one up, organising my day, advertising my business and growing my own clientele.

Good luck

I think you should consider investing the £1200 each month into a fund that will grow.
Address the stress issue separately.

I'd say make this a temporary plan only, while you recover

So 700 a month is only barely minimum wage. There must be less stressful things you can do that are better paid than that, if you've currently got a well paid career.
What are your qualifications? You could retrain using your 1200 to prop you up for a year or 3?